40th EPISODE. I was working with Mudra, Ahmedabad. One of my accounts was RSWML -MAYUR FABRIC with its office at Gulapura. For a meeting with Shri Ladhajee the Marketing Director we would take overnight train to Ajmer. In morning visit Khwaja Darbar the Dargaha and leave for Gulabpura on a hired taxi- normally a spruced up Ambassador. However, the drill was different, if, we failed to get a reservation in the overnight train or we were to move suddenly for a meeting. We would take the day train that dropped us at Ajmer around 5 PM, then drive down, and reach Gulabpura in time for dinner. Night in such cases would be spent in the guesthouse at the factory.
This incidence refers to one such meeting. Raju Bhai (Mr Murugesan) was busy in some other project and I was going alone. The train was delayed. It was 8 PM by the time I got off at Ajmer. The taxi driver was waiting for me. Mr. Arvind of ‘Navjyoti Press’ and his office would co-ordinate our taxi bookings. It was late and we could have rested at Ajmer but I decided against it. I was sure that we would easily cover the two-and-half-hour journey with halt for dinner at some roadside Dhabha’s. The charm of good sleep through the night won over hassle of morning drive to Gulabpura.
We had been driving for half an hour when we had a punctured tire. That delayed us. Then, there was some accident on the highway between Jatiya and Naserabad further delaying us.
It was now getting late and I was getting hungrier by the moment. After Nandia , it is tough to find an eating-place. The unlit highway with rushing trucks from the other side on NH 79 ensured that we drove less than 50 km/hour. We crossed Nasserabad around 1230 AM.
It was around 1 AM; between Kumhariya and Bandanwara, we saw some lights at a distance. Seemed another town. Sound of music drifted through the silent night. When we took the turn after another of the hillock music got louder. The road got better. Sound of late night Qawwali was now clearly audible. The song was intoxicating. The voice hypnotising. We saw few shops and some 20-30 people listening with rapt attention. I asked the driver to park on the side and take rest. I decided to eat something and to enjoy the mood. The music was so powerful that I kept on listening and lost the sense of time. It was music I was something I have never heard. I found myself a small cot and made myself comfortable. I do not know when I went to sleep
The next time I opened my eyes it was around eight in the morning. There was no one around. The car was parked at a distance but we were not on the highway. It was a dirt track. It was deserted. The cot was right at the edge of the road. Seemed we had lost our way but I remember never getting off the highway. There was no sign of any stage; any gathering that may have been there in the night. There was no stall and yet I was feeling heavy as if I had a nice heavy dinner. The body felt a bit tired and that I assigned to having slept in a small cot. This was definitely crazy for me.
The car driver was sleeping in the front seat. I woke him up. He was equally surprised. He told me that this not the way he remembers the place we stopped last night. He requested we leave immediately. He told me that he had heard such stories but never thought he would find himself in one. In that era of no navigation devices, it took us time to find our way to the highway. Just before the junction, we found an old man with his goats and we asked for direction. He looked at me and said a prayer.
He said joh huwa bhoolna mat. Kaal raat rasta bhatak gayeh kya. Koob gana suna hoga. (What happened never forget that, you lost your way last night, must have spent that listening to the songs) Before I could say anything. He added. Eisha hota raitha hai. (This is not the first time, such things do happen) You may be destined to have this experience. Kismat aachi hai aapki. (You were lucky). Har eek ko nahi sunayi deeti hai who awaaz ( not every one hears that sound). Who toh saab jagah hai. (He is everywhere) It maybe one of his ways to call you to Khwaja Darbar. Before I could ask anything, the man looked at me, said something that I could not hear and left.
I shared this with the client. I was advised that I should not have driven through the night. It was not safe. And on my way back- like a ritual I went to Khwaja Darbar that evening. Moreover, that same Qawwali was being sung there.
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● UNNAMED SPIRIT- a spooky experience at Mcleodganj ● Punjabi Lintas – Amrit Puri takes over Lintas ● Delayed launch – Why HT Delhi Colour supplement launch was delayed ● UNDERGROUND – Printing fake currency could have led to jail ● Strategic rain Break – How ZID KARO DHONI film was shot ● Thank You ● Rain Clause – I – The fight with Whitelight film over Maruti film ● Lethal Combination ● APPETITE – It does not matter where you get the appetite till you eat at home ● Puncture – how not to get caught ● Adultery- the moment – Its all for you to decide how far you would go ● ASSET – how a famous Indian model was rejected ● I am Sankar – soft ragging of new trainee ● The Count ● Introduction ● Time Bomb – How to avoid embarrassing situation ● Small Tile – eye for detail ● Shoot Report ● Sardar Khush Hoga ● Shoot At Mud Island ● Kaali Peeli Picture – what do you do you’re your model is featured in Debonair ● Upgrade ● Juhi Effect – there is something called lady luck in gambling ● Power Of Punjab ● Out – let game be game ● Two More – how not to pay for the drinks ● Eleven Minutes ● The Cherry Win ● The Presentation ● Black Gold ● Buffered ● Continue With Client ● Not Fired ● One Less Decision ● High jacking the Goafest delegates ● The Ghost Of 35 Rani Jhansi Road Jhandewalaon ● The Problem ● Imported Art Card ● Banyan Tree Agency
